Comforter covers are often used to keep a comforter clean and protect it. By changing the cover, users can change the outer appearance such as the fabric, pattern, and color of a comforter as desired. Prior to the present invention, comforter covers generally have taken the form of a rectangular fabric sack, having an opening on one side through which the comforter can be inserted into the cover. This open side is then closed by means such as buttons, snaps or snap fasteners, or other closure devices.
A problem not generally addressed by known designs of comforter cover is that the ends of the cover are prone to wear, for example as a result of scuffing by the floor and otherwise during normal use. Also, typical known comforter covers employ rudimentary buttoning, or other fasteners, along the edge or edges of the open sides of the covers which can let dirt into the cover between the fasteners. In addition, with many known comforter covers, the comforter may be difficult to insert or otherwise place inside the comforter cover. Furthermore, once the comforter is inserted or otherwise placed inside the comforter cover, the comforter may be difficult to distribute evenly throughout the comforter cover. Still further, some comforter covers do not secure or stabilize the comforter within the comforter cover. In these cases, the comforter can move or shift within the comforter cover during use and become unevenly distributed. This unevenness can reduce the comfort provided and may adversely impact the usefulness of the comforter.
Many quilt covers are generally similar to comforter covers. A variety of quilt covers is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,261,314 to Stoddard discloses a separate removable quilt covering comprising an upper cover and a lower cover considerably larger than the upper cover and the quilt to permit the outer edges to be folded over the top cover. Both covers are provided with buttonholes arranged along the edges and buttons are attached to the quilt to permit the cover sections to be secured thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,577,226 to Greenberg discloses a comparable construction to Stoddard employing loops and straps as fastening members rather than buttons and buttonholes.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,183,360 to Sussman discloses a detachable cover for quilts comprising a casing. The casing has a transverse opening closed by flap. The quilt is apparently inserted through the opening into the casing. The quilt has buttons located, for example, at its corners which are engageable with buttonholes in the casing to connect the quilt and casing together and maintain their relative positions. Assembly of the quilt with the casing appears to lack ease and convenience. Further it appears doubtful whether this construction could be effectively employed with a bulky comforter.
The art also contains various proposals for comforter covers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,790 to Wirtz discloses a single piece protective cover for a comforter having a bottom face and a top face forming a flexible woven fabric envelope. According to the description, the comforter can be placed on the bottom face of the comforter cover and covered with the top face of the cover. As described, zippers are employed to close the sides of the comforter cover. As acknowledged, in Wirtz's description (column 3, lines 26-28) the comforter can get caught in the zipper when the zipper is closed. Wirtz suggests a snag guard may be employed to overcome this problem, does not show one.
While the previously proposed comforter covers may be satisfactory for their intended purposes, they may not fulfill all desired purposes. Accordingly, there is a need for a new comforter cover which can serve additional purposes.
The foregoing description of background art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations together of disclosures, that were not known to the relevant art prior to the present invention but which were provided by the invention. Some such contributions of the invention may have been specifically pointed out herein, whereas other such contributions of the invention will be apparent from their context. Merely because a document may have been cited here, no admission is made that the field of the document, which may be quite different from that of the invention, is analogous to the field or fields of the present invention.